dandan62

Hi and welcome. The reference to 1980 will be the date the donor car was first registered.

Passed anyway. He confirmed he wasn't interested in reverse lights. I'll repair at my leisure.

I've had a look at it and seems fine. Just passed mot so I'll dig deeper soon. I didn't want to start fiddling too much in case I disturbed things before the mot.

Mot tomorrow so checked all lights at the weekend. My reverse lights aren't working. According to google they are not an mot failure but I want to fix them. Electrics are definitely not my strong point. Bulbs good, fuse good ( shared with indicators). No volts at bulbs. Next check was gearbox switch which was new near last year. Shorted the connection at the switch wire and still nothing. Checked volts there and nothing . I am thinking that only leaves the connection at the back of the fuse box? Or am I missing something obvious? Thanks in advance.

Update. Job done. Took a bit of fiddling but I decided in the end to cut and clamp the new cable. I made the join to the rear of the bulkhead so it didn't interfere with the cable quadrant. Also access is very much easier. I also moved the adjuster bracket back about 6 inches to give a bit more adjustment if needed. It all seems to work fine so far!

Cortina top hose fitted mine.

That's all great info thanks. I think I have enough options now and will get the car up next week to see how much room there is. I'll probably go for the nipple off option as I'm guessing it's the same as the exmo and fiddle room above the prop will be tricky.

Thanks for that. To be honest replacing the cable has been on the to do list for a while anyway. It is fairly seized and my lovely mot guy has been suggesting a new one for a few years. The cable definitely gave way behind the nipple probably due to my struggles to get it hooked back on. As far as I can see at the moment the cable will need to be cut to shorten it at the horseshoe end as I've seen in other threads. I was hoping this means I can just pass the cables through the rear bulkhead without removing a nipple? Or am I completely wrong? I will use about 4 mini cable clamps to rejoin. Hopefully access above the prop will be enough?

Hi. I replaced my brake shoes yesterday and on the final pull of the handbrake the cable snapped. The nipple connection to the shoe came off. I've ordered a new sierra one. Any tips on how to get to the horseshoe? Is it buried above the prop somewhere? Prop off maybe? Or cut an access hole from above? I know I'll have to shorten the cable. Experience tells me that tapping into the vaste previous experiences of everyone can save half a day of fettling. Many thanks. Mk2 monocoque

That's a good start but I really can't advise you if it's a good buy. Definitely take it for a test drive. Remember the monocoque cars like the Exmo tend to fetch less money than the 2b models. There seem to be a lot of cars for sale at the moment so try and look at a few, obviously depending where you live.

Hi. Have a Google of Robin Hood kitcar identification. That should take you to a useful page showing all the models available. Which is best is a tricky one. A well built early one with a monocoque chassis could be better that a poorly built tubular chassis (tubey ie 2b) Try and look at a few before diving in. And remember to make sure it is correctly registered on the V5 as a Robin hood and not the donor car eg Ford Sierra. Lots of incorrectly registered cheap cars are out there. Good luck.

Hi. Great idea. I'll be there weather permitting and pass on to a couple of others in the area. David

First step would be to download the iva manual from the Gov website. Have a read but don't let it frighten you. From reading lots of people's experiences the main things to be aware of are seatbelts fixings and sharp edges. Take photos of everything you do or if you have it done elsewhere make sure they take photos. One thing, the car doesn't have to have a windscreen to pass the iva and it saves a lot of hassle as there are a few hoops to jump through if you have one. Demisting for a start. Fit one afterwards. Most importantly, have fun with it. Make it your own.

I have read a lot about recent accuspark distributors chewing up the aux shaft and ruining engines. I think it has only started happening in the last few years. Mine is 6 years old and fine. If you look at kit car Facebook groups there are a lot of very unhappy people so I would be careful.

I believe the standard tank is about 25 litres. I have a 1.6 and do about 30mpg if I'm not overdoing it. I think most people think about filling up after about 100 miles. I get very nervous at 120 miles and usually fit in about 22 litres.

Many people recommend Bestek near Crawley. I think if you tell him want you need he will sort it. I think he will also do a swap for a good price for your original one but don't quote me on that!

Hi. I've just asked him and he thinks he is enjoying too much in this weather now and has decided to hang onto it. Can't blame him. I'll remove this post soon.

Hi. I also have a 1.6 pinto. I'm not 100%sure about the iva but I believe due to the age on the engine it will be smoke test only. Someone may correct me though. I haven't got the Iva manual. E10 will only effect fuel system parts like fuel lines and rubber gaskets in the carb. Hopefully you are fitting e10 compliant fuel lines. Remember super unleaded is still e5 so you can use that to be safe and it gives a bit more performance. I use lead substitutes in my unleaded fuel. The engine has done many thousands of miles and shows no sign of regression to the valve seats. I'll get them done if a problem appears. Also I don't do many high speed long distance stuff which causes most issues if they aren't hardened. Have you checked it hasn't got the unleaded stamps by no4 exhaust port? (M,MM,N OR NN) I think some of the late ones were converted according to the Haynes manual. Good luck.

Many thanks. Will pass that on.

Hi. A friend of mine is reluctantly putting his Superspec up for sale. I've seen and heard it and all appears to be good to me but will obviously need closer inspection. Mot till June. He is firm on price though and is happy not to sell if the price isn't reached. I think it's pretty standard. It has the Rover 2 litre fuel injected engine. I will get more info if its needed for anyone interested. Based near Chichester, West Sussex £7500

Sorted! You spurred me on to take the switch apart. I was afraid of springs flying everywhere and making things worse. It was a right state in there. Gave it a good clean and all is well. Many thanks!

Mot next week so I thought I'd check it over. My hazards are only working on near side. The indicators all work fine when used normally. With hazards only left ones work, but if I indicated right all hazards work fine. Have cleaned all contacts at the indicator stalk connector. Tried new relay. Checked earth's. I'm a bit stumped. They have been fine before. I'm thinking it may be the switch? Any ideas? Tia

Hi. Welcome to our world. It's quite tricky to advise too much on the issues. Every car will have been built differently so diagnosis of the guages is difficult. To lose all of them implies a fuse. Then you have to find out why it blew. Are they all separate or an all in one display of some sort? Indicators as well is slightly strange as they shouldn't be connected. Possibly an earth issue. Oil leaks are not uncommon on old pintos but should be sorted anyway. Usual culprits are rocker cover gasket or sump gasket ,crank seals. Can you see the rough area where it is coming from? I can't be much more help. I'm sure someone will be along with more help maybe. Good luck.

Excellent info. Thanks.

Many thanks. Just trying to find a 2b for a guy who is keen to join our world.